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Four-time world champion Mark Selby came through a tough safety battle with Judd Trump before racing away to win 10-5 and take the Champion of Champions title for the first time in his career.

Playing in front of his home crowd at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, 42-year-old Selby showed his trademark grit to win a scrappy tactical duel before knocking in a 138 break and then accelerating away.

“This tournament has only got the best players in it, so this is a privilege,” Selby told ITV.

“I played well today but I knew I had to. Judd is the man to beat.

“It feels like it’s been a while since I have played to that standard.”

World number one Trump, 36, made a bright start and led 3-1 with two century breaks but was ground down in his first final of the season by some lengthy, defensive frames.

Selby’s semi-final win over Neil Robertson included a 63-minute frame decided on the final black.

And he again showed his patience and perseverance to see off Trump.

After a 25-minute battle over the last red in frame 10, the pair swapped 25 shots over one red in the pack a frame later, with the threat of a re-rack eventually leading to Selby taking charge.

Selby then showed his class with a sparkling 138 and peeled off three centuries in a row to win nine of 11 frames as an out-of-sorts Trump lost the final for a fifth time.

Trump told ITV: “There are no positives. Mark was the best player all week and he thoroughly deserved to win.

Generational goalgetter Erling Haaland will get a crack at his first major tournament next summer, after leading Norway to the World Cup.

And the 25-year-old Manchester City striker did it in sensational style, scoring 16 goals in eight World Cup qualifiers – netting at least once in every one of those games.

That makes him the top scorer in 2026 World Cup qualifying in any continent.

And his country’s 4-1 win in Italy on Sunday, where Haaland scored twice, means they will be playing in next summer’s World Cup in North America.

Haaland, speaking to TV2 afterwards, said: “I’m happy, but more relieved. There’s a lot of pressure and stuff, and I feel it. But it’s fun.”

It will be only their fourth World Cup, and their first major tournament since Euro 2000.

“We’ve not had someone who’s been an outright superstar in the way that Erling is,” said Norwegian journalist Lars Sivertsen.

Haaland’s goalscoring record for Norway is nothing short of phenomenal.

He has hit 55 goals in 48 matches for his country.

And in fact he is only the sixth player ever, and the first in 53 years, to score 50 goals in fewer than 50 caps.

Norway’s previous top scorer was 33-goal Jorgen Juve, who held that record for 90 years.

In these qualifiers he scored 16 goals – in eight games – plus two assists. That is double the goals tally anyone else has scored in Europe.

He is the top scorer in these qualifiers in any continent, including ones where teams play twice as more games.

Over a year has passed since Haaland last failed to score in a game for Norway.

Including games for City Haaland has scored 32 goals in 20 games this season.

But it is not just a one-man show.

Captain Martin Odegaard, 26, has more assists than anyone else in European qualifying – seven.

The Arsenal midfielder has played 67 times for Norway since making his debut at the age of 15.

“Combine Haaland’s success with the fact that in this generation we also have Martin Odegaard,” said Sivertsen.

“We’re a country of five million people and we have both the best striker and I would argue the best playmaker, certainly one of the best playmakers, in the Premier League.

“Realistically that will not happen again in my lifetime and it’s something that I am cherishing.

“If we have this conversation in five years I’d be baffled if there wasn’t a consensus that these are the two best footballers we’ve ever had.”

But Sivertsen added: “I think the group of players we have would have had a shot at qualifying without him.”

He compared Haaland and Odegaard’s standing to that of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey when Wales got to the semi-finals at Euro 2016.

“That team doesn’t work in the same way without Ashley Williams and Ben Davies at the back, without Joe Allen, without Joe Ledley,” he said.

For the first time in a generation Norway fans will experience the joy of supporting their team at an international tournament.

Their nation competed in the World Cups in 1938, 1994 and 1998, and Euro 2000.

Haaland’s father, Alf Inge, played at the 1994 tournament. Erling has previously said being better than his father was a big career ambition for him.

Alfie never won a trophy with clubs like Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Manchester City.

Erling has won the Treble with City, another title too and trophies in Austria and Germany.

A World Cup appearance was probably the only thing his dad’s career had over his.

“Norway will never win the World Cup,” Haaland Jr told Time Magazine in July.

“If we would qualify for the World Cup, it would be like another big nation winning it.

“It would be the biggest party ever. Scenes in Oslo would be incredible.”

Sivertsen said: “From a country our size, you’re always going to be a little bit beholden to having some good generations and some bad generations.

“There have been some lean years. But more recently, the frustration has been that we have good players who play for top clubs, but we’ve still missed a couple of tournaments.

“That is enormously frustrating. So I think there’s it’s almost more relief than euphoria that we finally managed to do it now.

How is Haaland, the person, seen in Norway?

“I think Erling is in some ways not a completely typical Norwegian,” said Sivertsen.

“He’s confident and can be a little bit brash. He knows his value and he knows his quality and he backs himself.

“Scandinavia has a culture that’s more about humility. You know, someone like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer,” he said referencing the former Manchester United striker, who was famed as a super sub.

“Solskjaer is kind of the ultimate Norwegian footballing hero, not just because he was successful, but because he was happy to be on the bench. He was happy to be a squad player. He didn’t complain,” he said.

“Erling would complain if he was on the bench. So I think he is a little bit untypical of Norwegians.

“That makes him an interesting hero for us, because there will be moments of backlash.

“He is now just in a different strata of star than what we used to from our sporting heroes.

Haaland heading to next summer’s World Cup with Norway means he avoids his name going on the list of great players who never featured in one.

Three Ballon d’Or winners never managed to reach a World Cup.

George Weah, who won trophies with Monaco, PSG, AC Milan and Chelsea, played for Liberia – who have never reached a World Cup.

Iconic Manchester United winger George Best, considered by many to be one of football’s greatest players, was a Northern Ireland international during the 1960s and 70s when they did not qualify.

Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano played for three countries – Argentina, Colombia and Spain – but never got to a World Cup with any of them.

He missed the 1962 World Cup through injury for Spain, as did another multi-national legend who never played at the top tournament – Barcelona icon Laszlo Kubala – who also played for Czechoslovakia and Hungary.

Gunnar Nordahl is AC Milan’s all-time leading goalscorer with 221 goals, but never played at a World Cup for Sweden.

Sweden did not allow professionals to play in the national team at the time.

Luke Littler celebrated becoming world number one for the first time by beating Luke Humphries, the man he has surpassed, to win the Grand Slam of Darts with a 16-11 victory in Wolverhampton.

The world champion’s 16-9 victory over the Netherlands’ Danny Noppert in the semi-final meant he would overtake Humphries to top the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) world rankings regardless of the result of Sunday evening’s final.

But Littler emphasised his ascension to the world darts summit as he surged to victory by winning 10 of the last 13 legs against his great rival to retain the title – and stay unbeaten in the Grand Slam.

At just 18, Littler is the youngest PDC world number one, surpassing Michael van Gerwen, who achieved the feat aged 24 in 2014.

“I am the best in the world, I can finally say it,” Littler said after the final.

“World number one, you are the best in the world. To top it off by going back-to-back here makes it even more special.

“Now I’m number one, I’m hungry to stay there. I want to be there for the next few years.

“There’s going to be a target on my back from Luke and all the other players. It’s made me more hungry.”

The final ebbed and flowed, with Littler quickly going 2-0 up before Humphries won four on the spin to lead 4-2.

Humphries retained the edge until a brilliant 167 checkout saw ‘The Nuke’ break back for 8-8.

The decisive moment came with Littler leading 10-9 when Humphries, well in control of the leg, chose to go for a 170 out, missed and then fluffed his set-up on his next visit.

That gave Littler a glimmer of hope with a 160 finish. He made no mistake to go 11-9 up and never looked back.

Littler’s earnings over the two-year period that determine the Order of Merit totalled £1,770,500 after making the final, with his victory taking it up to £1,850,000.

The rankings are determined by the amount of prize money a player has won from ranking tournaments over a two-year period.

“Being world number one is some achievement for Luke Littler and doing it in less than two years is something remarkable,” former BDO world champion Mark Webster told Sky Sports.

“He knows how to get it done. He doesn’t have bad spells – he does lose in some tournaments and it will continue to happen – but he’s just a brilliant talent.”

In the semi-finals, Littler had to overcome a sluggish start of his own and a blistering one from Noppert and found himself 8-6 down.

However, just as he would in the final, he rallied in impressive style, winning 10 of the next 11 legs and ending with an average of 102.62 to complete his rise to the summit of world darts.

Humphries had clung on to the number one spot for a little longer with a magnificent display to beat Gerwyn Price 16-13 in an enthralling first semi-final.

Despite losing his world number one status and another defeat by Littler, following his loss in the World Grand Prix final in October, Humphries was in bullish mood after the match.

With the start of the World Championships less than a month away, the 30-year-old is motivated to get himself back on top.

“I am going to win the Worlds,” he told Sky Sports.

“I am declaring war on him. I’m playing good. Tiredness just crept in at the end there. We’re going to go to war at the World Championships, we’ll see who is the one there.”

Asked if he thinks he and Littler are in a league of their own, Humphries added: “Yeah, I do. I don’t feel arrogant saying that. What can us two do? We’re on opposite sides of the draw and people can stop us.

“I am trying to stop him and I can’t. It is up to everyone else to stop us. At the moment us two are playing a level of this sport that is better than everyone else.

“I want to play another world final against him.”

But Littler was not going to back down from the challenge, and agreed that there is a sizeable gap between the world’s top two and the rest.

“It definitely is war because if someone takes it off you then you want it back. You don’t want to be second,” he said.

“I think we are [in different league from the rest]. The finals show it, the stats show it and like Luke said, if everyone is getting bored of me and him then someone needs to stop us otherwise we’re going to keep winning.

“One and two, we’re going to meet in the final if we get past our opponents. Long may it continue.

“Me and Luke have sort of done the same in titles. Now I’ve got the number one spot and he wants it back. We’re going to be battling even more, I think we’re going to be playing well because obviously he wants it back and I don’t want to give it away.